Tesco is worst retailer to work with say wine and spirits suppliers in Harpers poll

ByGemma McKenna

Published: 09 January, 2015

Tesco has been named and shamed as the worst retailer to work with in a survey of over 200 wine and spirits suppliers carried out by Harpers.co.uk.

Tesco has been named and shamed as the worst retailer to work with in a survey of over 200 wine and spirits suppliers carried out by Harpers.co.uk.

Tesco's wine and spirits suppliers rated it the worst retailer to do business with in a Harpers pollSuppliers made a resounding call for fundamental change to how retailers interact with suppliers in the Harpers.co.uk survey, with 95% believing it's necessary.

Nearly a third (32%) of suppliers in the Harpers survey labelled Tesco the worst retailer to deal with, putting it way ahead of its nearest rival for the unflattering title - wine specialists Majestic (as selected by 19% of suppliers) was second and Sainsbury's third (12%).

Tesco is also the most demanding grocery retailer when it comes to seeking financial support from suppliers, with 57% naming the supermarket as the most demanding when it comes to asking for additional fees or payments.

Sainsbury's was the second most insistent, said 48% of suppliers, Majestic third (38%), then Asda (32%) and the Co-op (27%).

The discounters, by comparison, performed far better with only 5% of suppliers claiming Lidl and 3% Aldi were the most financially demanding.

The survey exposes quite how unhappy suppliers are with how they are being treated by the major retailers with a staggering 95% calling for immediate and lasting reforms. But only four in 10 of those that took part in the survey were in any way confident that this would happen.

Suppliers made a resounding call for fundamental change to how retailers interact with suppliers in the Harpers.co.uk survey, with 95% believing it's necessary.

There was better news for Tesco in the survey when suppliers praised it for offering the best support to retailers, outscoring the rest of the sector with 22% of the vote. This may reflect the strength of its consumer franchise and how it allows its producers and suppliers to interact directly with its customers. 2014 saw more than 15,000 consumers, for example, attend Tesco's Wine Fairs around the country.

Sainsbury's came out top as the best retailer to work with (19% of suppliers), followed by Marks & Spencer and Majestic (14% each), and Waitrose (12%).

As part of the survey, suppliers told Harpers it is getting harder to deal with retailers because of fast-changing demands, inexperienced buyers and confusing strategies. One said: "Each retailer can set their own price/promotional mechanism and they have become increasingly complex. Annual joint business plans have now become the norm but buyers usually come back later in the year asking for more promo budgets making it difficult to plan/budget effectively."

Another added: "The buyers are not specialists in their field and are moved on to another category before any meaningful traction can be gained. The strategy from the top does not seem to cascade down. There are no guarantees or commitments and retailers will do anything to ensure they are not in any way liable for anything that may go wrong".

Despite all that, three quarters of suppliers were confident that 2015 represented a better opportunity for business. One added: "The only reason I say there is a greater opportunity in 2015 is because I imagine more and more suppliers will have to pull out of dealing with the multiples, or won't do so and will go bust. We are careful with whom we work, so we are stable and could see greater opportunities for ourselves. But it is still a very negative environment and any new opportunities we do win will almost inevitably involve some risk to our business."

Another supplier ended with a stark warning for retailers going forward. "It will be interesting to see what finally unravels out of TescoGate. Certainly other multiples need now to be very careful with their 'business' practices from now on. We have seen some idiotic and arrogant examples in 2014."

Harpers supplier poll was carried out between December 22, 2014 and January 6, 2015.

For a full breakdown of our survey results, read our analysis here. You will need to be a subscriber.